Does your spouse admire you?
At a recent bridal shower, we played a game. It involved a bowl full of candies and we all chose three different colored candies. Each color of candy was connected to a concept – and we were challenged to share with the group our responses…
The orange candy was connected to the concept, “Someone you admire & look up to and why.”
A few of us chose the orange candy. As our turn came to respond to the questions, it was interesting to hear stories about who we admired and why. (I chose an orange candy, and told everyone about my friend, Donna.)
One of the ladies talked about admiring her husband. Why? Because he never complains.
“I admire my spouse because he doesn’t complain.”
She went to on to detail her admiration and explained that though he worked very hard, every morning he got up – yet again – to go to work, without complaining.
He didn’t complain about the house, about the children, about a multitude of things in their life that she felt were quite worthy of complaint. She contrasted her response to his, and it was fully evident she respected and admired his non-complaining attitude and subsequent behavior.
This was my first time to meet this lady, and though I’ve never met her husband, boy-oh-boy, did I want to!
What great leadership qualities this man must possess…
Read more about leadership principles on our post at Lead Like Jesus! “Complainer or Encourager?”
When we admire our spouse, it impacts more than the two involved…
There is a ripple effect, which reaches an unimaginable number of people. See – all the ladies, married or not, around the bridal shower table, now know about this man whose wife admires him. You’re reading about this husband who doesn’t complain, and his wife who admires him. (How could I not write about this?)
Do you admire your husband or wife?
Why?
Have you ever told your spouse that you admire her/him, and why?
Maybe you’re having difficulty thinking of reasons you admire your spouse… or maybe expressing those reasons is hard for you. I’ve created a downloadable free resource to help you explore this idea. It grew out of a post I wrote years ago, “101 Phrases to Encourage Your Spouse”, and the companion video. This exercise is connected to the 7th phrase, “You’re amazing!”.
LOVE that she shared that admiration for her husband. I could easily say the same about mine. It really is just so important to honor and acknowledge the great qualities we see in our spouse! Sharing positive attributes or behaviors our spouse does to bless us and our family is one of the joys I find in my own life. I love the message here- there truly IS a ripple affect in our intentions.
I think that one of the things I most admire about my husband is his determination. He wants to be an engineer and he is going through college to get his degree right now. Never once has he changed his mind or given up on his goal, and his determination has rubbed off on me, and it has helped me become a better person. I was not motivated to do much of anything before I met him, but since we have been together, I am more motivated to make my life actually mean something.
Your statement, “…since we have been together, I am more motivated to make my life actually mean something.” really made an impact on me, Jordan.
As husbands and wives we have the best opportunity to make an impact on each other – and it’s so powerful when that impact is for good…
And because you embrace the influence of your spouse, just imagine how many other people are encouraged and inspired! (I am!) 🙂